Stove latch



G. MCARTHUR, JR., ET AL 3,498,285

swovn Luca March 3, 1970 Filed June 27, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG 3 FIG 4 R V mm m W RC NM am m m A Y B M AJ'X ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,498,285 STOVE LATCH George McArthur, Jr., Delaware, and Anthony J.

Schwartz, Worthington, Ohio, assignors to Glenwood Range Company, Taunton, Mass., 2 corporation of Massachusetts Filed June 27, 1968, Ser. No. 740,599 Int. Cl. F24c 15/02, 15/36; E05c 9/16 US. Cl. 126197 11 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A stove latch system is disclosed for permitting an oven door and a broiler door which are mounted to a stove body to be simultaneously latched by a simple rotary movement of a handle mounted near the top of the oven door. The handle has a plate fixed to it which is positioned within the oven door. The plate has an extended portion functioning as a first latch member. When the handle is rotated to the latch position, the first latch member extends from the top of the oven door into a keeper mounted on or above the oven door frame portion of the stove body. A second latch member, which is a steel rod, is pivotally fixed to the plate and mounted vertically in the door to move longitudinally when the handle is rotated. When the handle is rotated, the rod extends from the bottom edge of the oven door and, without passing through the door frame portion of the stove body, directly enters the broiler door to seat against a keeper mounted therein. A movable cover is provided to block the rod and prevent it from extending out of the bottom of the oven door unless both the oven door and the broiler door are closed.

BACKGROUND Our invention relates to stove door latches, and more particularly to a stove door latch which simultaneously latches both the oven door and the broiler door and is therefore of particular value in a gas self-cleaning stove.

Self-cleaning stoves presently marketed clean only the oven portion of the stove. However, our invention contemplates that any stove in which any part of the interior of the stove is self-cleaning. With the development of the self-cleaning stove, engineers have found that latching of the stove doors in the closed position is an essential safety precaution. The stove manufacturer must provide means for preventing a stove operator from opening the oven door when the air in the oven is heated above 700 F. Opening under such conditions would permit oxygen from the ambient air to enter in sufiicient amounts to cause rapid combustion or flash of the grease being cleaned from the oven.

The electric self-cleaning stove was developed prior to the gas self-cleaning oven. The usual electric stove has only one door and only one compartment in which both baking and =broiling are done. Therefore, an ordinary single-door latch may be used in an electric self-cleaning stove.

However, the gas oven usually has two compartments, an oven with an oven door, and a broiler, usually positioned below the oven and provided with a broiler door. It therefore becomes important to latch both of the doors of a self-cleaning gas stove. There is, therefore, a need for a stove latch which can effectively latch both the oven door and the broiler door.

It is therefore an object of our invention to provide an improved stove door latch.

A further object of our invention is to provide a stove door latch which permits an operator to latch both an oven door and a broiler door by a single movement of a single latch handle.

A further object of our invention is to provide a stove door latch which requires a minimum number of parts and is therefore inexpensive and easy to manufacture and capable of a long life of service.

A further object of our invention is to provide a stove door latch which requires only a single temperaturesensitive door lock to lock both the oven door and the broiler door when the oven temperature exceeds a selected temperature, such as 600 F.

A. further object of our invention is to provide a door latch which cannot be operated to the latching position unless both the oven door and the broiler door are simultaneously closed.

Further objects and features of our invention will be apparent from the following specifications and claims when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings illustrating several embodiments of our invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION We have found that these and other objects may be attained in a latch for use on a cooking stove, the stove comprising: a body including an oven door frame and a broiler door frame; an oven door sealable against the oven door frame and pivotable around an axis; and a broiler door adjacent one edge of the oven door and scalable against the broiler door frame; the latch enabling a user to latch both the oven door and the broiler door by movement of a single latch handle, said latch comprising: (a) a first keeper mounted to the oven door frame; (b) a second keeper mounted to the broiler door; (c) a latch handle movably mounted to the oven door; (d) a first latch member movably mounted to the oven door and linked to the latch handle for movement there with, for at times latching said oven door by extending adjacent to or in contact with the first keeper; and (e) a second latch member mounted in the oven door and linked to the latch handle to move in response to motion of the handle to extend through the edge of the oven door adjacent to or in contact with the second keeper without extending through any portion of the stove body for at times latching said broiler door; whereby an op erator may move the handle and thereby simultaneously cause the latch members to secure both the oven door and the broiler door to the stove body.

These and other objects are particularly well attained in a latch as described above wherein (a) the latch handle is fixed to a pivot pin which is rotatably mounted near the top of the oven door; (b) a plate is fixed transverse to the pivot pin for rotation therewith, the plate having said first latch member extending therefrom; and (c) the second latch member comprises a rod pivotally fixed to said plate and extendible through the lower edge of the oven door by a selected rotation of the handle.

DESCRIPTION OF THE VIEWS FIG. 1 is a view in front elevation of a stove with a portion of the doors removed to expose an embodiment of our invention;

FIG. 2 is a vertical section of the stove doors illustrated in FIG. 1 and is taken substantially along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view in perspective illustrating the cover mechanism of an embodiment of our invention for preventing latching of the stove doors unless both are closed;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the cover mechanism illustrated in FIG. 3 shown in its unobstructing position;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the cover mechanism illustrated in FIG. 3 shown in its obstructing position; and

FIG. 6 is a view in front elevation of an embodiment of our invention for use with an oven door having a centrally positioned window.

In describing the preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings, specific terminology will be resorted to for the sake of clarity. However, it is not intended to be limited to the specific terms so selected, and it is to be understood that each specific term includes all technical equivalents which operate in a similar manner to accomplish a similar purpose.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION FIGURE 1 shows a front view of a stove with sections of the door panels removed to expose an embodiment of our invention. In FIGURE 2, we show, in vertical section, a side view of the doors shown in FIGURE 1.

The stove of FIGURE 1 and FIGURE 2 comprises a stove body which includes a conventional oven control panel 12, top burners 14a and 14b, burner controls such as burner control 16, an oven door frame 18, and a broiler door frame 20. An oven door 22 and a broiler door 24 are mounted to the stove body. The oven door 22 is provided with an oven door grip 26 for pulling the oven door open by rotating the door around a substantially horizontal axis near its lower edge 28. Suitable conventional oven door hinges (not shown) are provided near the lower edge. The broiler door 24 is similarly provided with a grip 30 for opening it.

A portion of the oven door front panel 32 and the broiler door front panel 34 are shown broken away to expose an embodiment of our invention which is mounted primarily within the oven door 22. The rear panel 36 of the oven door 22 and the rear panel 38 of the broiler door 24 are partly broken away to further reveal the oven door frame 18, the broiler door frame 20, the oven cavity 40, a baking rack 42, and the broiler cavity 44.

For the illustrated embodiment of our invention, we provide a latch handle 50 of irregular shape fixed to a pivot pin 52 which is rotatably mounted to the oven door 22. The handle 50 is illustrated vertically in the latched position but is rotatable to a horizontal unlatched position illustrated in phantom (dot-dash lines) at 50a in FIG. 1. Fixed to the pivot pin 52, for rotation therewith, is a plate 54 which has an extended portion functioning as a first latch member 56 (shown in dotted lines in'FIG. 1). When rotated to the latched position, as illustrated, the first latch member 56 extends into a keeper 58 'fixed to the stove body and prevents opening of the oven door 22. The keeper 58 maybe simply a slotted plate screwed to the stove body. When the latch handle 50 is rotated to the position 50a, the first latch member 56 is withdrawn from the keeper 58 and opening of the oven door is permitted.

A second latch member 60, which we prefer to be a steel rod, is pivotally fixed to the plate 54 by a rivet 62 and a clamped lug 64. This second latch member 60 is held in position by one or more channel guides such as, for example, the guide 66. The channel guide 66 is large enough to permit the sliding, substantially longitudinal, movement of the second latch member 60 which occurs when the plate 54 is rotated by rotation of the handle 50.

In the latched position of the latch handle 50, the second latch member 60 extends through openings in the bottom edge 28 of the oven door 22 and into openings in the top of the broiler door 24. The lower end of the second latch member 60 is tapered and seats against a keeper 70 fixed within and to the broiler door 24. This keeper 70 has an inclined surface to permit the second latch member 60 to be wedged tightly against the keeper 70 to secure the broiler door 24 tightly closed.

When the second latch member 60 seats against the keeper 70 of the broiler door 24, it prevents the opening of the broiler door 24. Because the second latch member 60 extends from the pivoted edge 28 of the oven door 22, any force on the broiler door 24 tending to open it would 4 not exert a moment force tending to open the oven door door 22; but on the contrary, the small moment of such force would hold the oven door 22 more tightly closed.

To the extent thus far described, our invention provides an apparatus for insuring that the oven door and the adjacent broiler door are secured in the closed position by a simple rotation of the latch handle. This is a very important feature for use on gas self-cleaning ovens. It is, if anything, more important to insure that the latch handle cannot be rotated to the latched position unless both doors are closed.

In FIGURE 3, we illustrate our structure for preventing an operator from rotating the latch handle 50 to the latched position unless both the oven door 22 and the broiler door 24 are closed. The second latch member 60 will be unable to extend from the lower edge 28 of the oven door 22 unless both the oven door 22 and the broiler door 24 are closed, and thus in such circumstances the latch handle cannot be moved to the latched position.

FIGURE 3 shows that the front panel 32 of the oven door 20 has a bottom flange to form the lower edge 28 of the oven door. The rear panel 36 is similarly flanged to lap above the bottom flange of the front panel 32. The broiler door 24 has its front panel 34 flanged to form the top edge of the broiler door 24. The rear panel 38 of the broiler door 24 has a flange at its top and laps immediately below the top edge 80.

The second latch member 60 extends vertically downward to seat against the keeper 70 in the broiler door 24. It extends through a suitable opening 82 in the bottom of the oven door 22 and a suitable opening 84 in the top of the broiler door 24.

Immediately above the opening 82 in the bottom of the oven door 22, a restraining means is positioned. The illustrated restraining means comprises a cover 86 which is pivotally screwed to the bottom of the oven door 22 by a screw 88. The cover 86 is spring biased by a spring 90 which urges the cover to rotate around its pivot screw 88 away from the oven door back panel 36. Rotation of the cover 86 is limited by a screw 92 fixed to the cover 86 and extending below it into an arcuate hole in the bottom flange of the rear panel 36. The arcuate hole is not illustrated in FIGURE 3 but is shown in hidden lines in FIGURE 4 and FIGURE 5.

An arm 94 extends vertically downward from the cover 86 through the opening 82 in the bottom of the oven door 22. Immediately below this arm 94 is a finger 96 which is formed from an upwardly bent portion of the top of the broiler door 24. This finger 96 pushes against the arm 94 when the oven door 22 and the broiler door 24 are both closed. The finger 96 thereby acts against the spring 90 when both doors are closed to hold the cover in a position leaving unobstructed the opening 82 in the bottom of the oven door 22.

The movement and operation of the cover 86 are more clearly illustrated in FIGURE 4 and FIGURE 5. In FIGURE 4, the cover 86 is in the position in which it does not obstruct the opening 82 nor prevent the downward movement of the second latch member 60. Although the force exerted by the spring 90 tends to rotate the cover 86 away from the back panel 36, such rotation is prevented by the finger 96 protruding from the top of the broiler door. If, while the second latch member 60 is in its raised position, either the broiler door or the oven door is opened, the finger 96 will move away from the arm 94 and permit the spring 90 to rotate the cover 86 to the position of obstruction shown in FIGURE 5. Further rotation is prevented by the shank of the screw 92 which extends into an arcuate hole 98 in the bottom flange of the rear panel 36. When in the rotated position shown in FIGURE 5, the cover 86 obstructs and prevents passage of the second latch bolt 60 through the opening 82.

In order for the cover 86 to move to the obstrucing position when only the oven door 22 is opened, the

horizontal axis of rotation of the oven door 22 must be sufficiently above the finger 96. This is necessary so that the arm 94 will move far enough away from the finger 96 when the oven door 22 is opened to permit the cover to completely obstruct the opening 82.

In FIGURE 6, we show an embodiment of our inven tion which is suitable for use on a stove having a window 100 in the oven door 122. This embodiment has a handle 250 fixed to a pivot pin 152 which is rotatably mounted to the oven door 122. A plate 154 is fixed to the pin 152 for rotation therewith and is provided with an extended first latch member 156 portion to function. in the manner of the first latch member 56 in FIGURE 1. A pair of horizontal linking arms 102 are each pivotally connected to the plate 154 at one of their ends and to a pair of crank discs 104 at their opposite ends. Each crank disc 104 is rotatable around a central pin 106 fixed to the oven door 122. A wrist pin 108 is provided on each crank disc 104 to which the horizontal linking arms are pivotally connected. A pair of vertical latch members 160 are also pivotally connected to the wrist pins108. These vertical latch members 160 at their lower extremes are provided with structure similar to that illustrated in FIGURES 1-5 and function in the same manner.

OPERATION The operation of the embodiment of our invention illustrated in FIGS. 1-5 may begin with the latch handle 50 in the position 50a shown in FIG. 1. In this position, the lower end of the second latch member 60 is above the level of the cover 86. If either the oven door 22 or the broiler door 24 is open, the cover will move to the position illustrated in FIG. 5. With the cover in that position, any attempt to move the second latch member 60 downwardly would cause it to strike the top of the cover 86. It could not be moved through the hole 82. g

If, however, both the oven door 22 and the broiler door 24 are closed, the finger 96 protruding from the top of the broiler door 24 will move the cover 86 to the position illustrated in FIG. 4. If an operator desires to latch the stove doors, she would grasp the latch handle 50 and rotate it downwardly to the position illustrated in solid lines as shown in FIGURE 1. This movement will move the second latch member 60 downwardly into the top of the broiler door 24 and seat it against the keeper 70. Both doors are now latched in their closed positions. To unlatch the doors, the handle 50 is returned to its horizontal position at 50a.

The operation of the embodiment of FIG. 6 is quite similar. Rotation of the latch handle 150 to the vertical position illustrated causes rotation of the plate 154 and an inward movement of the horizontal linking arms 102. This rotation causes the crank discs 104 to rotate in the direction indicated by the arrows in FIG. 6. The rotation of the crank discs in the direction indicated causes the vertical latch members 160 to move downwardly to the position illustrated.

The oven doors are provided with suitable openings and keepers below these latch members 160 similar to those we have illustrated in FIGS. 1-5. We prefer also to provide a suitable cover below each latch member 160 to operate like the cover 86 illustrated in FIG. 3.

It is an advantage of our latch that it permits use of a single temperature-sensitive door lock of the type currently used on self cleaning stoves. Such a thermal lock has a short longitudinally extendible rod actuated by a bi-metal device. The rod is extended when the temperature of the oven exceeds a specified safe limit. Such a temperature sensitive door lock may be suitably positioned near the position of the first latch member 56 when this latch member is in its latched position so that movement of the extending rod of the lock will prevent return of the first latch member 56 to the unlatched position. Of course, when the temperature falls below the safe limit, the rod will withdraw, the first latch member 56 can be moved,

and the doors may be unlatched. Those skilled in the art will be aware of the fact that there are various alternative ways to mount such temperature sensitive lock so that it properly performs its function. For example, a pivotable lever arm, having a notch, could be mounted to the stove body so that the first latch member 56 enters the notch and pivots the lever when moved to the latching position. The temperature sensitive lock can then be suitably positioned to prevent return of the lever, and thus of the first latch member 56, when the temperature is above a selected limit. Other temperature sensitive locks are known, such as one using a hydraulic bulb and solenoid system.

It is to be understood that while the detailed drawings and specific examples given describe preferred embodiments of our invention, they are for the purposes of illustration only; that the apparatus of the invention is not limited to the precise details and conditions disclosed; and that various changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention which is defined by the following claims.

We claim:

1. A latch, for use on a cooking stove, the stove comprising: a body including an oven door frame and a broiler door frame; an oven door sealable against the oven door frame and pivotable around an axis; and a broiler door adjacent to one edge of the oven door and sealable against the broiler door frame; said latch enabling a user to latch both the oven door and the broiler door by movement of a single latch handle, said latch comprising:

(a) a first keeper mounted to the oven door frame;

(b) a second keeper mounted to the broiler door;

(c) a latch handle movably mounted to the oven door;

(d) a first latch member movably mounted to the oven door and linked to the latch handle for movement therewith, for at times latching said oven door therewith, extending to the first keeper; and

(e) a second latch member mounted in the oven door and linked to the latch handle to move in response to motion of the handle to extend through the edge of the oven door to the second keeper without extending through any portion of the stove body, for at times latching said broiler door; whereby an operator may move the handle and thereby simultaneously cause the latch bolts to secure both the oven door and the broiler door to the stove body.

2. A latch according to claim 1, wherein (a) the latch handle is rotatably mounted to the oven door;

(b) the first latch member is rotatably mounted to the oven door; and

(c) the second latch member is eccentrically linked to the latch handle to move in a substantially longitudinal motion in response to a selected rotation of the handle.

3. A latch according to claim 2, wherein (a) the latch handle is fixed to a pivot pin which is rotatably mounted to the oven door;

(b) a plate is fixed transverse to the pivot pin for rotation therewith, the plate having said first latch member extending therefrom; and

(c) the second latch member comprises a rod pivotally fixed to said plate and extendible through said edge of the oven door by a selected rotation of the handle.

4. A latch according to claim 3, wherein (a) the oven door and the broiler door lie substantially in a vertical plane with the oven door immediately above the broiler door, the oven door pivoted near its lower edge;

(b) the latch handle and first latch member are positioned near the top of the oven door; and

(c) the second latch member is extendible vertically downward through the lower edge of the oven door against a keeper mounted to the broiler door.

5. A latch according to claim 4, wherein the second latch member extends through a channel guide.

6. A latch according to claim 1, wherein latch restraining means is provided to prevent the second member from extending through said edge to said keeper except when both the oven door and the broiler door are in their closed position.

7. A. latch according to claim 6, wherein the restraining means comprises a cover pivotally 'mounted adjacent an opening in the oven door through which the second member is extendible, the cover being pivotable to a first position obstructing the opening and to a second position permit-ting extension of the second member from the oven door.

8. A latch according to claim 7, wherein (a) the cover is spring biased to its obstructing position; and

(b) the broiler door is provided with a finger projecting therefrom which pivots the cover to its unobstructing position when the oven door and the broiler door are closed; wherein only when both the oven door and the broiler door are closed can the broiler door be latched closed by rotation of the handle.

9. A latch according to claim 8, wherein the cover comprises in a selected position a planar body having upwardly extending ear adapted for connection to a spring biasing means and having a downwardly extending arm, said arm extending downwardly through an opening in the bottom edge of the oven door and cooperating with said finger which extends upwardly from the broiler door; wherein when the broiler door and the oven door are closed, the finger pushes against the arm and rotates the cover to its unobstructing position.

10. An improved latch of the type for simultaneously latching two closures of a container in their closed position and provided with a movable actuating member and two latch members linked to the actuating member, a first of said latch members being movably mounted to and extendible from a first one of the closures to seat against a keeper mounted to the other closure in a selected position of the actuating members, wherein the improvement comprises:

said first latch member extending from a hinged edge of the first closure directly to the second closure without extending throughany body fixed to said container.

11. A latch for use on a cooking stove, the stove comprising: a body including an oven door frame and a broiler door frame; an oven door sealable against the oven door frame and pivotable around an axis; and a broiler door adjacent to one edge of the oven door and sealable against the broiler door frame; said latch enabling a user to latch both the oven door and the broiler door by movement of a single latch handle, said latch comprising:

(a) a first keeper mounted to the oven door frame;

(b) a second keeper mounted to the broiler door;

(0) a latch handle movably mounted to the oven door;

(d) means, linked to the latch handle for movement therewith, for at times latching said oven door by extending into contact with the first keeper; and

(e) means linked to the latch handle to move in response to motion of the handle to extend through the edge of the oven door into contact with the second keeper Without extending through any portion of the stove body for at times latching said broiler door;

whereby an operator may move the handle and thereby simultaneously cause the latch bolts to secure both the oven door and the broiler door to the stove body.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS KENNETH W. SPRAGUE, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 292-5 

